


Late Bloomer

by Cantankerous



Series: Better late than never [1]
Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator: Dark Fate
Genre: Alpha Grace, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/F, First Rut, Hand Job, Omega Dani
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:34:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22205713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantankerous/pseuds/Cantankerous
Summary: Post-nuclear fallout, alphas and omegas present around 21. Twenty-four-year-old Grace has long assumed she was a beta until her commanding officers spot her going into a rut. Grace is isolated to work through her rut alone, but wakes in the dark to find a woman there helping her.
Relationships: Grace Harper/Dani Ramos
Series: Better late than never [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606981
Comments: 13
Kudos: 150





	Late Bloomer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dire_quail](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dire_quail/gifts).



> This is a kinda, sorta-ish prequel to Dire-Quail's Keep Me High. It's definitely inspired by it because Dire-Quail often inspires me. I like to think of Keep Me High as the first time after Grace becomes augmented. This is the actual first time but it's a secret.

Daniella Ramos faced many problems each day as the commander of the human resistance against Legion. Despite all she had faced, she wasn’t prepared for the problem she found in the hanger bay. 

Squadron Five was detoxing from their mission with loud music and alcohol. Dani took one look at each of the soldiers, focusing on one soldier in particular, before heading to their sergeant.

“What’s wrong with Grace?” Dani asked.

Hiro glanced at his soldier before looking at her. “Nothing. It was a no casualty run and we killed a Rev-7. I’m filing the report now. She’s just having a good time.”

Dani blinked. “Hiro, I need you to think about what you just said and who you said it about.”

Hiro tilted his head in confusion as he turned to study Grace again. Grace had her arms wrapped around two of her fellow soldiers. He could see that one of Grace’s hands was on Nia’s ass and the other was grabbing Robby’s pecs. Hiro’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Dani agreed.

Grace was an ideal soldier, always following orders. He had offered her a position as his second, but she declined. She just wanted to serve. She never cut loose with her squadmates. She laughed with them. But she never instigated public displays of affection. He wasn’t certain she instigated private displays of affection either, but that was none of his business. 

Hiro straightened as he watched Grace burrow her face in Nia’s neck. “We have got to get her to the infirmary and then quarantine before she sets off the whole squad.”

“Good idea.” Dani rubbed her forehead. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She left Hiro to take charge.

*

“I feel fine, Sarge,” Grace complained as Hiro escorted her to the infirmary. She had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing their squad medic hadn’t already taken care of. She had been having a good time, and Nia and Robby had smelled so good.

“It’s just procedure.”

Grace didn’t see how it was ‘procedure’, but she suddenly worried about how warm she was feeling. She scratched down her arms. “Was I infected or something?”

Hiro pushed open one of the med bay’s double doors. “Or something.”

Grace went inside but rounded on him once inside. “Or something? What do you mean? What’s wrong with me?”

Dr. Isles came out from her office, concerned. “Hiro? Your report said you required no medical assistance.”

“Yes, Doc. This is something else. I think Grace is...presenting.”

Grace gaped at her sergeant who kept his eyes on the doctor who studied Grace. Dr. Isles nodded. “I’ll get the kit.”

“I’m a beta,” Grace argued. Hiro held up his hands, uncertain of what else to tell her. Grace turned to address the doctor who came back with the Alpha/Omega blood kit. “I’m a beta.”

“Finger,” Dr. Isles ordered. Grace mutely held out her hand. Her finger was wiped with an alcohol pad. “Big stick.”

Grace didn’t flinch as her finger was poked with a lancing device and a drop of blood as squeezed onto the test strip. Dr. Isles reached up to feel Grace’s head after setting the test aside. “I’m going to prep the blocker, but I worry it’s not going to be as effective as normal.”

“How long could she be out?” Hiro asked as the doctor went to the medicine dispenser.

“Twenty-four hours minimum. I believe she is already going into a rut, and I don’t want her returning to the general population until the rut has been suppressed. Normally we catch it sooner. Most alphas and omegas are able to skip most of the ruts and heats with only an hour of discomfort. She may have several hours before the blockers start to neutralize her hormones and more importantly, her pheromones.”

Grace felt like her jaw was on the ground. She shook her head, certain she heard wrong. “I can’t be going into a rut. I’m a beta. You haven’t even checked the test.”

“True,” Dr. Isles said, walking back over with a prepared syringe. She examined the test and turned it around. In the middle of the test was a clear, black A: A for alpha.

“I can’t be,” Grace whispered, stunned. “I’m too old.”

“You’re a late bloomer,” Isles corrected. “Twenty-four is an uncommon age to present, but not unheard of. Before the nuclear fallout, most individuals presented around sixteen or seventeen. The average age post fallout is twenty-one. Heats and ruts are also less common now. They only occur perhaps once a year instead of three or four times with a very small standard deviation.”

Hiro cleared his throat. “Doc? Perhaps we should get her started on the medication?”

Dr. Isles shook her head. “Oh, yes. I apologize for digressing. Arm, please.”

Grace numbly rolled up her sleeve and allowed the doctor to inject her. “What can I expect?”

Grace had heard others talking about going into ruts, but she didn’t know what to believe. Most of the information from her peers was useless as they had never been allowed to go on heat or rut leave for procreation. She scrambled to recall the filthy talk she heard from older soldiers.

“Presenting ruts typically have flu-like symptoms in the beginning. You will likely be feverish, disoriented, and lethargic. Muscle aches are also a common symptom. Masturbation is known to relieve symptoms if you can manage it.”

“That sounds terrible,” Grace said, her stomach twisting with anxiety.

The sympathy on Dr. Isle’s face was clear. “It typically is rough without a partner the first time. However, it does become manageable. My partner went for years experiencing ruts alone and taking blockers to mask her scent to avoid stereotypes from her job.”

“Her job?” Grace fumbled asking. She was beginning to feel disoriented. She was uncertain if it was her rut or the medication.

“She was a police officer. You should get her to quarantine, Hiro.”

“Of course, Doc.” Hiro guided Grace further back into the infirmary past the operating rooms and morgue. 

“Who is her partner?” Grace asked, trying to focus on anything other than her body.

“Captain Rizzoli.”

Grace meant to reply, but she had started to shiver. She was getting tired of walking. She just wanted to stop and rest against the wall, but her sergeant kept urging her along.

“Almost there, Grace.”

Grace was so grateful to stop walking that she didn’t care the door looked like those down in the jail. Hiro helped her onto the bed. Grace was confused about why the bed crinkled, but she didn’t give it much thought. 

“See you in a day or so, Grace,” Hiro said before closing the door.

She didn’t reply. She hoped she would feel better after a nap.

*

Sleep was fitful. She woke hot and sweaty. Grace rolled onto her back and struggled to kick the blankets off of her. She bent her toes, wondering how her boots had come off before she dozed back to sleep.

She had bad dreams. She couldn’t remember them, but she knew she kept writhing in the bed. Her muscles ached and nothing felt comfortable. Her skin itched everywhere her clothes touched her.

Grace gasped as she felt an ice pack placed on her head, feeling instantly better. She tried to catch the hand that placed it, but couldn’t. Someone was in the room. She could pick up the faintest scent, but she couldn’t see them in the darkness. 

She didn’t know who it was, but she was grateful they were there. She didn’t feel as scared knowing someone was there. She let the exhaustion and blissful ice pack ease her back to sleep. 

*

Grace woke up scratching at her stomach. Her muscle aches and fever were gone, but it was hard to focus on anything except the heat between her legs. She had never felt anything like it. She reached for the heat but found her pants in the way. She tried pushing them off, letting out little grunts of frustration.

She froze when she heard an amused laugh, and felt someone unbutton her pants. She fumbled for the hand on her. She captured one. She wet her lips to speak. “Who?”

“It helps to have someone around.” 

Grace thought it sounded vaguely like a woman, but she couldn’t say for certain who it was. The woman had ignored her question either way, and Grace was in no shape to talk. Her head felt stuffed full of cotton. 

She let go of the hand and pushed her pants down as far as she could. She softly groaned when she found that didn’t relieve the pressure building between her legs. 

“It will help once you...you know.”

Grace didn’t know. She thrashed her legs to kick her pants further off, twisting them around her ankles. She gripped the crinkly bed sheets as she felt pressure continue to build between her legs.

“It hurts,” she whined.

“You need to touch yourself,” The woman said from the darkness.

“I don’t know how.”

“Just like you did before today. Just like you touch others.”

“Never touched anyone else,” Grace confessed. She was too far gone to feel shame. “Help me.”

Her request was met with a long pause. “I...shouldn’t.”

“Please,” Grace begged. “Please help me.”

Another long pause before a hand covered hers. “I’ll show you how to start.”

Grace let her hand be guided to her stomach and slipped under the waistband of her underwear. She gasped, and maybe the woman gasped, as wetness coated their joined fingers. She arched as fingers touched her clitoris. She knew this was the source of the pressure.

“You need to release your knot.”

Grace shook her head back and forth. “I don’t know how!”

“It’s okay,” The woman soothed. “I’ve got you. I’ll take care of you.”

Grace tried to relax. The woman said she would take care of her. She pulled her hand back to grasp the woman’s wrist, letting her have control. 

But it was impossible to relax as she felt fingers press on either side of her clitoris and spread her flesh. Her fingers started a slow, circular massage around the aching pressure. Grace stiffened as she felt her skin start to stretch; her hand clamping hard on the woman’s wrist. “It’s okay. It’s supposed to happen.”

Grace sobbed in relief as the pressure eased as her clitoris swelled and lengthened into a shaft. She let out a cry as her hand wrapped around her, soft strokes helping the growth to quicken. The woman’s hand felt as blissful as the ice pack had. “Please.”

“I’ve got you,” She repeated, switching to long, deliberate strokes. Grace thrust her hips into each stroke, whimpering with need. 

She panicked when she realized she had been racing somewhere and she was right at the edge. She knew what would happen when she went over, but she wasn’t sure she was ready. It had happened so quickly. “Wait.”

The woman’s other hand pressed firmly on the middle of her chest. “It’s okay. Trust me.”

The weight on her chest grounded her and strangely made her feel less vulnerable. “O...okay.”

Grace’s head slammed back into the bed as her thumb ran around the sensitive rim at the top of her shaft and she started to come. She couldn’t move as she felt hot fluid shoot out of her. All the air in her lungs exhaled as the woman’s hand locked around the swollen, tender knot at the bottom of her shaft. She let out helpless cries as she was squeezed and milked until her body stopped climaxing. She trembled as the woman squeezed her one last time before letting her go.

Grace meant to say thank you, but sleep claimed her in her weakened state.

*

Later, Grace wasn’t sure if what happened was real or a dream. She had awoken mess-free on plastic sheets with her pants properly fastened around her waist and her boots in place. There wasn’t even an ice pack in the room. Dr. Isles also said no one went down to see her. 

* Before Grace woke up *

Dr. Isles lifted her head as the commander walked into the infirmary from the back. She looked back at her paperwork for Grace Madison Randolph-Harper when she saw how red Dani’s face was. “How is she?”

Dani cleared her throat. “Sleeping.”

“Good.”

“Maura...this never happened. I was never here.”

“I don’t recall seeing you here.”

“Okay.” Dani let out a sigh of relief. “Let me know when she’s safe to rejoin the general population.”

“Of course. Tell Jane I’d like to see her for dinner if you’re going back to the control room.”

“I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Grace does find it out it wasn't a dream. That's in the sequel. 
> 
> Why yes that is the Rizzoli and Isles you may like to ship together. In case you were curious, Jane is an alpha and Maura is a beta.


End file.
